"Character! Eh! You must not ask the Melbourne sharks for it: if you do, you will hear of one not worth having. Now let's shoulder the emus; there's lots of oil in these fellows good for bruises, sprains, rheumatism, lumbago, and all that. I have a boat in a creek yonder, and shall be happy to take you to Dodge's station—'tis on the borders of the bay of Westernport."
"Perhaps," said Slinger, "this Dodge will not receive us very civilly: he might make the same mistake you did, and treat us as bailiffs; although, I must say, I should not feel flattered by his doing so."
"No he wont," said the stranger; "I can answer for that;" and he called his dogs to him and examined the one which had been hurt in the late affray.
They then set off for the creek, which was not far, carrying the birds between them. The stranger dragged his boat out of the mangroves which lined the muddy banks, and deposited the spoil in the stern sheets, launched her over the mud into the water, and they drifted slowly down.
"To whom are we indebted for this kindness?" Hugh asked.
"To that respectable gentleman I spoke of—old Dodge himself—He is your humble servant.—Strangers, allow me to introduce to you Giles Dodge—squatter—an outlaw (that means out of the reach of the law, you know,)—the will-o'the-wisp of lawyers—the terror of bailiffs—and as good a rifle shot as any in these parts; who can sneak a kangaroo or a bailiff with any man in the settlement—if he can't may I be darned." What the process of darning might mean was not probably within the comprehension of his listeners; but as he shut one eye in an eccentric manner and threw his face into strange contortions, the reader may conclude that it must have signified something very dreadful indeed.
